Page 34 - HaMizrachi Yom HaAtzmaut 5783 USA

Lech-Lecha

75 years of Landmark Rebirth of National Identity

Rabbanit Shani Taragin

hat an honor to contribute who would inherit the Land and perpetu- national rebirth in 1948 were fraught with
to HaMizrachi’s celebration ate Avraham’s national-religious identity. great sacrifice and difficult decisions to
of 75 years of Israel’s inde- Yitzchak’s birth begins the next era of assure the future of our family / national
Wpendence as a sovereign Avraham’s life – 75 years of living in the identity. Like Avraham our father, we
Jewish state! As we share our dreams for Land with his promised progeny! Avraham have witnessed the fulfillment of Divine
the future of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, lived 75 childless years outside of Canaan, promises over the past 75 years, accompa-
it is also appropriate to appreciate the then 25 years in a new land without father nied by challenges within our own family
unique significance of Israel’s milestone or child, edifying himself and others in and struggles with neighbors of different
75th birthday. monotheistic belief and values, and finally, faiths and values.
In Tanach, most numbers are usually at age 100, he begins a new era of 75 years During his final 75 years of life after the
“rounded off” to the nearest ten or hun- in the Promised Land with the promised birth of Yitzchak, Avraham rejected com-
dred. Tanach and Tannaitic literature are child! placency and refused to passively await
replete with teachings about the signifi- During the final 75 years of his life, what the materialization of G-d’s dreams and
cance of the number 70, which represents does Avraham do to chart a trajectory for promises. Instead, Avraham chose to write
the many languages and nations of the generations to come? He casts out Yish- history together with G-d and actively
world, facets of Torah, names of Jerusa- mael to properly invest in Yitzchak, clari- pursue and secure his destiny. Similarly,
lem, and more. Yet there is a remarkable fying and forging his family’s identity, and the 75 years since our national rebirth
75 year landmark in Jewish history which signs “Abrahamic accords” with his Phi- have taught us essential lessons: that
marks a significant stage in our national listine neighbors. He undergoes another security comes with sacrifice, forfeiting
development and warrants celebration “Lech-Lecha” moment, this time to Mount land for peace has consequences, build-
and reflection. Moriah, demonstrating his willingness to ing homes for the future is essential and
“Go forth from your land and from your sacrifice his son for G-d and forfeit not forging family identity within the Jewish
people is critical to our survival.
birthplace and from your father’s house, only his past and present values, but also
to the Land that I will show you” (Bereishit his entire future, subsequently meriting With G-d’s help, may the next 75 years
12:1). At the advanced age of 75, Avraham an unconditional oath from Hashem that bring us, the children of Avraham Avinu,
Avinu made his landmark entrance to the his descendants will inherit the Land. greater brotherhood, security and inter-
land of Canaan. Avraham forfeited his Following the death of Sarah, he actively national influence. And may we continue
entire past – his Mesopotamian identity, secures his covenantal legacy of land and the journey of “Lech-Lecha,” planting, per-
his birthplace, and, most challengingly, nation through purchasing a burial plot in petuating, educating and building, for the
Chevron and finding a wife for Yitzchak.
his family – to forge a new identity in an generations to come!
unknown destination. For 75 years, Avra- The birth of Yitzchak heralded the second
ham lived with his father and was known stage of Avraham’s life as a personal and
as one of the “toldot,” “generations,” of national patriarch, a “founding father”
Terach, together with his brothers Nachor of our nation and land. Avraham passed
and Haran (11:27). But then everything away 75 years later as an “םיִיֹוּג ןֹומ ֲה ב ָא,” a
changed. At 75, Avraham entered Canaan “father of a multitude of nations,” buried
and was promised: “To your seed I will give by both Yitzchak and Yishmael in the
this Land” – that he would have children Me’arat HaMachpelah he painstakingly
who would inherit the Land. Avraham purchased for his descendants. Rabbanit Shani Taragin
then endured 25 years of trials, tribula- Chazal explain that the calculations of is Educational Director of Mizrachi
tions, famines, battles and family tension, G-d’s everlasting promise of inheritance and the Director of the Mizrachi-TVA
while also securing Divine covenants of of the Land following exile, formalized in Lapidot Educators’ Program.
national history (brit bein haBetarim) and the the brit bein haBetarim, began with the
religious identity (brit milah). Finally, at the birth of Yitzchak (Rashi, Bereishit 15:13 and Join me at the
age of 100, G-d fulfilled His promise and Megillah 9a). Like the 75 ensuing years World Orthodox Israel Congress Est. 1902
orthodoxisraelcongress.org
blessed Avraham with a son from Sarah of Avraham’s life, the 75 years since our 120 YEARS OF RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

34 |